BADASS KOSHER: Islamic-Jewish Interfaith Dialogue in a Bowl

Those who are only generally familiar with Middle East politics and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict might believe Arabs and Jews—or, more generally, Muslims and Jews—are ancient enemies. At times it feels like an old conflict, one not entirely unlike the Sunni-Shiite divide in many of the states neighboring issue. But it is and was not so.…

One catalyst to the collaboration between Jews and Muslims was similarities and shared history of Jewish and Islamic traditions and culture. Nowhere, perhaps was that more evident than in food. While all halal food is not kosher, much could be. And all kosher food is halal. This facilitated a significant culinary cultural interchange that affected both cuisines. Sephardic Jewish mezé helped inform the growth of a tapas tradition, boquerones en vinagre (anchovies in vinegar) being but one example. Similarly, much of Sephardic cuisine began its life as Moorish dishes filtered through the laws of kashrut.